The cold summer may not have been that good for sun lovers but it has been good for sparkling wine. The summer has boosted the acidity in Cornish vineyards producing a much higher quality of sparkling wine than usual. Whilst the poor weather reduced the overall crop of grapes by around 80% the remaining grapes are perfect for making sparkling wine. The Camel Valley Vineyard will use them to make its wine called "Cornwall" which came second at the inaugural sparkling wine contest in Italy beating vineyards from Champagne but losing to Bollinger. This years bottling should produce and even better vintage that the vineyard owner believes could rival even France's best champagne. Now where do I buy some of this?

This is an interesting idea, its a parental control system for cars called MyKey. The idea is that parents will able to set limits such as adding a top speed that should not be exceeded and setting how the loud the stereo can go. Ford will introduce the controls on some US makes of car that will be go on sale in 2010. The Ford Focus will be the first car to include the MyKey system but it is likely to become a standard feature. The main feature of the system is that you can set the top speed of the car to 80mph. It also has other options such as setting a volume limit of the car stereo, making the car sound an alert if the passengers do not wear a seatbelt and setting warning tones if the car goes faster than 45, 55 or 65mph. The system is aimed at new drivers but I do wonder how many new drivers can afford a brand new car. The cars I had when I started driving struggled to go more than 80mph downhill with a following wind. In fact my current car would probably need a push.

When wine started flowing through the taps in a small Italian village it was hailed as a miracle because it coincided with Marino Grape Festival. During the festival the sparkling wine flows from the main fountain in the square, however on this occasion it came through local peoples taps. It turned out, however, that there was no miracle, the situation was down to a technical error with a plumbing problem at the local vineyard. An error had switched the pipes from the local vineyard into the domestic water supply rather than to the intended destination of the fountain. As word spread the local people filled buckets and plastic containers with as much wine as they could. Wine on tap, this sounds great.

This is a rather unusual story that I came across, it about a girl who suffers from a condition that means she bleeds spontaneously from her pores. Twinkle Dwivedi who is 13 loses blood through her skin without being cut or scratched. She has had to undergo several transfusions to replace her lost blood after it has seeped through here eyes, nose, hairline and the soles of her feet. She has also woken up covered in blood. Her family have consulted a number of doctors and even preachers but as yet no cure can be found for her condition which is thought to be caused by a rare platelet disorder.

Dolphins in a Japanese aquarium have been put on a diet because they have become too fat to do tricks. Kinosaki Marine World in Japan has put all of its 19 dolphins on a weight loss plan because they have been failing to hit jumping targets or keep upright whilst they are trading water. Under the plan they will eat more white fish and fewer fatty mackerels. They will also be put on a new exercise regime to help them try and shed the extra pounds.

This is strange its jewellery for eyes. The jewellery which comes in a number of designs including teardrops is made to hang on a wire from contact lenses. The designs are attached to the contact lens using medical wire and hang from the eye. They cost around £200 for the lens and jewellery attachment and are meant to be perfectly safe. Personally I think its a silly idea and would find it quite irritating to have something dangling from my eyeball.

This mobile phone built by Japanese firm Sharp Corp will allow people to unlock the door of their car and start their engine without using an ignition key. Cars equipped with the system will be able to sense when the correct key is nearby and will allow the engine to be unlocked. They will also allow the engine to be started once the device is inside the car. Nissan has shipped a million cars with the technology in Japan since 2002.

This is interesting, its an article that describes how ants display a preemptive response to danger. In a Brazilian ant colony some ants choose to sacrifice themselves for the good of the colony. At sunset, the colony will protect itself by sealing off the entrances with sand. The problem with this is that a few ants must choose to remain outside to complete the job. These ants will be unable to reenter once the nest is sealed and so will die when the temperature drops overnight. A behavioural ecologist found that as many as eight ants would remain outside the nests. The remaining ants, however, were not stragglers they stayed outside the nest to deliberately help to hide the entrances and would spend up to 50 minutes carrying sand into the hole until it was sealed. By the time the morning came the ants that had stayed outside were dead. It is thought that the ants who remained outside were old or sick ants that chose to sacrifice themselves for the greater good of the colony.

I came across this article today about a jacket which was on sale at TK Maxx. The jacket which is made by a Swiss firm contains a concealed knife on the inside pocket attached by a chain. The knife is a pocket penknife size and is meant as a promotional gift. I have since read that the coat has been withdrawn from sale in the UK but I do wonder why the store thought it was a good idea to stock this product when we hear stories of knife crime deaths daily. Surely selling jackets with concealed knives is sending the wrong message?

This is interesting its a solar powered bicycle. The device operates like a normal pedal cycle but has a canopy lined with solar cells overhead. As the user pedals along in the sunshine the rays charge a battery that powers a small electric motor in the back wheel. The battery can then power the bike forward at speeds of up to 15mph as well as lowering the resistance in peddling so that it is easier to cycle up hills. When the sun isn't shining the bike can be charged by plugging it into the mains. It is currently still only in the concept stage but the inventor hopes to find a manufacturer and mass produce it.

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